Fly fishing

Casting is the most important part of fly fishing. Casting determine if you present the fly on the water properly. Presenting the fly means how you cast the fly out. Different flies have different was of being presented.

Three basic fly fishing casts are the overhead cast, Roll cast, and the reach cast.

Roll Cast-http://youtu.be/AwBZbnb4cpY Overhead Cast-http://youtu.be/0yIzZP0UGdw Reach Cast- http://youtu.be/J0tdJXq9pho

The motion of fly fishing casting is from 2 o'clock to 10 o’clock on a clock. when you draw back the fly rod and then shoot it forwardThis is were the motion 10 o’clock to 2 o’clock comes in, because you shoot Your rod back to 10 o’clock then shoot it to 2 o’clock then repeat. You wait a Few seconds for your fly line to follow the motion so it wont cause a snapping sound

When Fly casting your rod acts as a whip. When you are fly casting the rod has to beVery flexible for the fly line to be casted out.

CASTING

Gear

The most important part of your gear is your fly rod and reel if you do not have them u cannot fly fish. The other essential gear are waders and boots. Waders are like a wet suit that keep you dry and warm. Having waders is a bonus if you fly fish. Waders are traditionally made from vulcanised rubber but available in more modern PVC, neoprene and Gore-tex variants. You can buy different types of waders depending on were you live in the world. If you live in Calgary Alberta and you want to fish in the winter when the lakes and streams are freezing over you can buy waders that can handle below -20 degree cold, and if you live somewhere warm like hawaii were the waters warm you can buy waders that are thinner so you don’t overheat. You have the option for waders to come with built in wading boots or you can get them without. Some types of waders can be dangerous. Rubber waders can fill up with water, which can suck you under a deep river or lake.

A decent price for waders is 90-100 dollars but can range from 40-600 dollars. The problem with cheaper waders with or with out built in boots are that the seems are week and may tear easily. There is also the possibility of poor sizing.

Having the right boots is important to. There are different types of boots. For example felt bottom boots improve your footing on a slippery stream or river so you don’t take a swim, but rubber soled will last longer. You can buy studs for your boots to screw in the bottom for more grip and durability when wading in fast moving water. A Belly boat or pontoon boat is optional if you fly fish on a lake. In that case you will need flippers for easy transportation so you can move a lot quicker or you can just kick with you boots. There are 2 different types of belly boats you can use. One type is called a belly boat and the other type is called a pontoon boat which you sit out of the water and use ores to move while you sit in the water and use flippers to move with a belly boat.

Felt soled boots 1. Neoprene Belly Boat Pontoon Boat 2. Gore Tex 3. PVC

Fly Rods and Reels

A thin and very flexible fishing rod that was created to cast artificial fly. Fly are made of yew, green hart, and later split bamboo, but todays fly rods can be made of carbon fiber and graphite and fiberglass. Bamboo rods are considered the most expensive rods and the most beautiful. Fly rods are made to not have to use a weighted lure but instead use the weight of the fly line to cast out the smallest and lightest flies.

The size of your rod depends on the size of the fish you want to catch. Even the water and the wind are factors to choosing a fly rod. There are different types of fly rods. Which include Fast action/tip flex Medium action/mid flex Slow action/full flex.

The Action means how flexible the fly rod is. The Faster the action the stiffer the rod is. Tip flex, mid flex and full flex refers to as were the bend of the rod is when you are fighting a fish or casting.

Their are different types of fly fishing rods.

For a quiet lake you would want a rod with slow action so you can see your bite easier and because the water is not rough it wont show Cause your rod to bend because of the current.

For a River or the ocean you would want moderate action or fast action The reasons for this is the fish in Rivers and Oceans are usually bigger And the current in them are a lot stronger.

reels have the same purpose to be able to cast out and catch a fish. The bigger the reel usually means more fly Reel usually means more Line and a stronger leader. There are reels made for fishing small little trout andTheir are reels made for fishing king salmon. For fishing big fish some reels have aBreak to slow down the fish while t takes out line while others reels you just need to hold the line for an let it out slowly.Some reels are meant to handle saltwater and wont corrode, while a freshwater reel would.

Fly Line and Leader

The fly line is the most important part but you would least expect it. There are Different types of fly fishing for different types of fishing . There are Three types of fly lines. Level, Double taper, Weight forward. Some lines are meant for casting while others are meant for Delicate presentation of a fly. Level The level Fly lines are the most basic fly line you can get. being the cheapest of the fly lines. They are uncommon because of their poor performance. Double Taper

Double taper have been popular fly line for many years The main reason for this is for the delicate presentation . For fishing on a small stream or creek that are No wider or longer than 30ft will increase the life of the line a great deal.

Weight forward

Weight forward fly line is truly the most common type of Fly line used today, the point of weight forward line is to shoot the fly forward for a longer cast. The first 1/3 of the line is the thickest and the last is 2/3 to minimize friction on the fly rod guides.

Fly Tying

To sum up the art of fly fishing some people enjoy tying fly's more than they like fly fishing. Fly tying takes time and practice, you can create your own custom fly's or you can watch a hatch and mimic different sorts of insects. Fly tying involves skill and patients. To Fly tie you need special tools, Threads, materials and fly head cement. There are different types of flies, 4 Basic kinds of fly’s are Dry Flies, Wet flies, Nymphs and streamers.

Royal Coachman- Dry Fly Leading Coachman- Wet Fly Prince nymph-nymph Mickey Finn- Streamer

The main tools you need to fly tie are. A vice and the main tying tools which include scissors for cutting material, a needle with a handle that will not roll of an table . A bobbin for tying on thread, and a whip finisher5) The needle is used for clearing out the eye of the hook after using the head cement on the fly's, bobbins to hold the spools of thread.2) Hackle plier are because it holds the feathers or hair closest to the eye of the hook. A whip finisher allows you to make very neat and uniform heads by exact placement and spacing of the tying thread.

My fly tying video

Types of Fish Fly fishing was first invented to catch different types of trout and salmon, but is widely used in catch a different variety of

fish which include pike, bass, panfish, grayling and carp. Fly Fishing is also used to catch fish from the ocean, which include redfish, snook, tarpon, bonefish and striped bass. Due to todays technologies there are stronger and better performance rods which have been created to catch  wahoo, tuna, marlin and sharks on flies

Types of flies that are used to catch these types of fish are made to look like fish and squid. Any fish can be caught on a fly but the key point Is that the fly has to replicate their food source.

Carp

Pike

Grayling

Rainbow Trout Bass

History of Fly Fishing

Fly fishing dates back to the 2nd century were the use of an artificial fly was artificial fly to  Roman Claudius Aelianus. He called this practice Macedonian anglers on the Astraeus River:” they have planned a snare for the fish, and get the better of them by their fisherman's craft. . . . They fasten red wool. . . round a hook, and fit on to the wool two feathers which grow under a cock's wattles, and which in color are like wax. Their rod is six feet long, and their line is the same length. Then they throw their snare, and the fish, attracted and maddened by the color, comes straight at it, thinking from the pretty sight to gain a dainty mouthful; when, however, it opens its jaws, it is caught by the hook, and enjoys a bitter repast, a captive.In his book Fishing from the Earliest Times, however, William Radcliff (1921) gave the credit to Martial (Marcus Valerius Martialis), born some two hundred years before Aelianus, who wrote:

...Who has not seen the scarus rise, decoyed and killed by fraudful flies...” (wikipedia).

Fly fishing's has 4 main originating places were it became most popular. Great Britain, Japan, Australia, and North America. Over time people started to upgrade their equipment from horse hair to silk and greenheart wood to bamboo so they could cast the silk line in windy conditions.

The problem with the silk line is that every day after they’ve gone fishing they would have to leave it out to dry for hours so the line did not become waterlogged.

Silk Line Greenheart Fly rod